blockade

American  

[blo-keyd] / blɒˈkeɪd /

noun

1. the isolating, closing off, or surrounding of a place, as a port, harbor, or city, by hostile ships or troops to prevent entrance or exit.

2. any obstruction of passage or progress.

   We had difficulty in getting through the blockade of bodyguards.

3. Pathology. interruption or inhibition of a normal physiological signal, as a nerve impulse or a heart muscle–contraction impulse.

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verb (used with object)

blockades, present (3rd person singular) blockaded, past participle, past blockading present participle

1. to subject to a blockade.

blockade British  

/ blɒˈkeɪd /

noun

1. military the interdiction of a nation's sea lines of communications, esp of an individual port by the use of sea power

2. something that prevents access or progress

3. med the inhibition of the effect of a hormone or a drug, a transport system, or the action of a nerve by a drug

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verb

1. to impose a blockade on

2. to obstruct the way to

Synonym Usage

See siege.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• counterblockade
  noun
• blockader
  noun
• problockade
  adjective
• nonblockaded
  adjective
• unblockaded
  adjective
• preblockade
  noun

Conjugated Forms

Present

• has blockaded
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have blockaded
  perfect
• has been blockading
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• have been blockading
  perfect progressive
• blockades
  singular 3rd person
• is blockading
  progressive 3rd person singular
• blockading
  participle
• am blockading
  progressive 1st person singular
• are blockading
  progressive

Past

• had blockaded
  perfect
• was blockading
  progressive singular
• were blockading
  progressive plural
• blockaded
  simple
• had been blockading
  perfect progressive
• blockaded
  participle

Future

• will blockade
  simple
• will have blockaded
  perfect
• will have been blockading
  perfect progressive
• will be blockading
  progressive

Etymology

Origin of blockade

1670–80; block (in the sense “to create obstacles”) + -ade ¹

Explanation

A blockade is an obstacle that stands between you and something you're trying to reach. After a robbery, police might set up a blockade around the neighborhood to catch the thief. Anything that impedes or halts progress is a blockade. If you join the military, you might find yourself building a blockade to confine your enemies and isolate them from the outside world. If you think of the root of this word, block, then you've pretty much got the meaning right there. If you don't want your little sister to disturb the house of cards you're building in my room, you can take lots of pillows and make a fort to use as a blockade to keep her from wandering in and knocking everything over.

Example Sentences

How did the timing work out, considering the recent blockade?

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2026

President Trump told the New York Post in an interview that the blockade in Iran could last until Labor Day, though he added that he thought that possibility was “unlikely.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 3, 2026

Overall, six commercial vessels have been disabled and another 122 redirected since the blockade went into force, Centcom said.

From BBC • Jun. 2, 2026

Navy struck a merchant ship trying to avoid the blockade of Iranian ports, the Associated Press reported.

From MarketWatch • May 31, 2026

After four punishing wartime winters, the stranglehold of the Allied blockade was causing increasing hardship in Germany and growing demands for peace.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman

Related Words

• barricade
• closure
• encirclement
• restriction
• roadblock
• siege
• stoppage